MST3K 112 - Untamed Youth
The Movie Two sisters passing through a small town fall victim to the corrupt local government. They are arrested on dubious charges and sentenced to work on a cotton farm with other young people. They are exploited and forced to live in inhumane conditions, though they are able to engage in the occasional high-spirited musical number. Eventually, the younger sister is able to expose the corruption and the system is reformed. The Episode Host segments Prologue: While fixing Tom, Joel discovers a "computer virus" (or "magnetic tape worm" according to Crow). Invention Exchange: Joel invents a "never-light pipe" with a sprinkler system activated by a smoke detector which puts itself out whenever you try to light up. Larry and Dr. Forrester realized that children adore puppets and putting things in their mouths, so they've invented "tongue puppets": puppets that you put on your tongue. Segment Two: Inspired by Lori Nelson's uncanny resemblance, Joel and the bots present their tribute to TV's Greg Brady. Segment Three: What does Gypsy think about? Segment Four: Gypsy can't stop coughing up synthetic cotton; she starts barfing up other things upon command, including a second Tom Servo! Ending Segment: Joel and the bots try to comprehend the goofy glasses-wearing guy from the movie. Then they read some letters. Obscure references * "At least it’s a Warner Brothers picture." : is one of the largest film studios in Hollywood. It was founded by four brothers (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner) in 1903 when they opened a theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania; they began producing their own films by World War I. * "Sounds like it’s going to be one of those teensploitation things." :Teensploitation is a genre of film-making that exploits teen feelings of angst and rebellion with plots involving sex, drugs, music, and crime. * "I hope there’s a cartoon first." :For much of cinematic history, comedic short films (frequently animation) preceded the feature presentations at movie theaters. For Warner Brothers’ films, these shorts were very often and Merrie Melodies, starring and the gang. Another explanation could be that the opening credits of the previous experiment - ''Moon Zero Two'' - are animated. * "It’s like he’s playing football against Claude Rains University." : (1889-1967) was an English actor best known for the title role in 1933’s . He also appeared in and . * "I’m not sure, but I think the word "daddy-o" is in this film about a million times." :Other than being the name of a future experiment (#307), "daddy-o" is a bit of beatnik slang from the 1950s, equivalent to "dude." * "It’s like the Stephen King book ''Children of the Dirt."'' : is a horror novelist known for works like The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Christine, and The Stand. " " is a 1977 short story by King about a small Nebraska town taken over and terrorized by a cult of children who worship "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." In 1984, it was made into a starring Linda Hamilton. That original film was followed by more than a half-dozen sequels. * "Don’t ever play chicken with cop cars. You’ll never win." :Chicken is the name given to the game wherein two people, often in cars, race toward each other to see who will lose their nerve first and swerve to avoid a collision. Sometimes, the game can be one-sided: i.e., a person can play against an unwitting opponent (such as a train). * "Works every time." :"It works every time" was the longtime slogan for malt liquor, used primarily in ads from the 1980s featuring actor . * "Is that the primordial soup?" '' :" " is the colloquial name for the theory that the early oceans on Earth (and by early, I mean four billion years ago) contained vast amounts of simple chemicals and compounds. When electrified by lightning or simply excited by sunlight, these chemicals would group and form amino acids, the simplest building blocks of life. The theory was first proposed by Russian biologist in 1924. * "''Hey, there’s a girl in my soup. –Don’t worry. She won’t eat much." :There's a Girl in My Soup is a 1970 comedy film starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. Coming immediately after the previous riff, this is a play on an old joke (with multiple punchlines) in which a restaurant patron complains about a fly in their soup, with the waiter responding "Don't worry, it won't eat much". * "It’s the Maytag repairman. He does look lonely." :Founded in 1893 by Frederick Maytag, is a manufacturer of appliances. The Maytag repairman (nicknamed "Ol’ Lonely") debuted in advertisements beginning in 1967, initially played by . The premise of the ad campaign was that the repairman was always bored and lonely because his services as a repairman were rarely needed (since Maytag appliances are so reliable). * "Meanwhile, at Mount Vernon..." :The phrase, "Meanwhile, back at _____," originated with cards inserted in silent films of the early 20th century. In westerns, this was often "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." Once audio became a common component, the phrase was still used by narrators for films, radio, and television shows. is the name of plantation, located near Alexandria, Virginia. * "Just for snoring too loud." :A possible reference to an old commercial that ran during the 1970s to advertise their series of Old West books. The voiceover in the ad talked about a man who was "so mean he once shot a man just for snoring." The man in question was (1853-1895), a Texas outlaw who killed at least 21 men between 1868 and 1877, when he was sent to prison. He was pardoned in 1894 and shot in the back of the head by an El Paso policeman the following year. * "Her name was Peanut." :Ventriloquist/comedian has a purple puppet named Peanut, whom he often introduces by saying, "He’s a woozle, and his name is Peanut." The writers found this fascinating, pointing out in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide that the phrasing made it sound as though the audience was supposed to know what a woozle is. * "''Green Acres?"'' :Green Acres is a TV sitcom that ran from 1965 to 1971. It starred (1919-1995) as Lisa Douglas, the socialite wife of attorney Oliver Wendell Douglas, played by (1906-2005), who tries to adapt to life in the rural town of Hooterville. * "Looks like Tom Waits’ hometown." : is a goateed, gravelly voiced singer-songwriter of the jazz/blues persuasion who has also appeared in many bit parts in films. * "Somewhere out there is the Ark of the Covenant." :The , according to Judeo-Christian tradition, was the ornate chest that carried the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Moses’ original scrolls, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod. In 1981’s , the Ark was located in the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis and could melt the face off a Nazi. * "Oh, I hope it’s not the Von Trapp family. I hate them." : (or Trapp Family Singers) was an Austrian group of singers made up of a widower, his seven children, and Maria, a tutor who later became their stepmother. They escaped Austria during the Anschluss, the 1938 annexation of their country by Nazi Germany. Their story became the 1959 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical and the famed 1965 film of the same name. * "Hey, it’s the body snatcher pod wagon." : is a science fiction film released in 1956 that serves as a Cold War allegory. It was based on a 1955 novel called by Jack Finney. Other film adaptations of the work were made and released in 1978, 1993, and 2007. When the aliens invaded, they created duplicates of people, which emerged from large pods. At the end of the first film adaptation, the hero is appalled to discover a pick-up truck full of the pods, apparently intended to spread the aliens around the country (and eventually the world). * "Lou Gossett Jr. will be out here to chat with you a little later." : is an actor best known for his roles in films such as , , and , as well as the acclaimed miniseries Roots. * "The original cast of ''The Dirty Dozen."'' : is a 1967 movie about a group of Army convicts trained to kill German officers during World War II. * "Cubby. –Gregor. –Annette. –Hoppy. –Mabel. –Mabel. –And Mabel." : and were Mouseketeers on the original version of the TV show , which aired from 1955-1959. * "And if you land on Free Parking, you get it back, which is great." :In the Parker Brothers game , one of the board spaces is labeled Free Parking, meaning no rent can be earned there and no property built. While not a part of the official rules, many people play a variation wherein all taxes (and sometimes fees or fines) collected during the gameplay are placed in the center of the board and then disbursed to whoever lands on Free Parking. * "... spend the rest of your time in the county klink." :An imitation of Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the inept commander of the German prison camp on the CBS sitcom (1965-1971); the part was played by (1920-2000). "Klink" is also a colloquial term for a local jail. * "Hey, look! It’s Greg Brady!" :On the ABC sitcom (1969-1974), Greg Brady was oldest of the male children; he was played by . * "Hey, it’s Blond Lemon Jefferson." : (1893-1929) was a blues singer and guitarist called "Father of the Texas Blues." He was popular in his day and very influential on later blues artists, including B.B. King and Robert Johnson. * "Anyone want a snow cone? I can go to the galley. –No thanks." :Snow cone is the generic name given to treats of shaved ice coated with flavored syrup. * "Ixnay on the umpbay and rindgay (sic)!" :An example of pig Latin. A word game dating back to the 18th century, it works by taking the initial consonants or consonant cluster of a word, moving it to the end of the word, and adding "ay" to it. So, "umpbay" above is "bump." ("Grind" should have been rendered as "indgray," not "rindgay.") "Nix" is a slang term meaning "stop" or "cut." It derives from the German word nicht, meaning "nothing". "Bump and grind" is a basic move in burlesque/exotic dancing. * "Cat fight! –Trollop fight!" :"Trollop" is a word often used to indicate a woman of poor moral character. It comes from the word "troll," which originally meant "to wander." * "Hey, it’s Lenny and Squiggy school." :A reference to the two "wacky neighbor" characters on the TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976-1983: Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (Michael McKean) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman (David Lander). * "Greg couldn't even get a suite on the Love Boat" : is a comedy/drama television series set on the luxury cruise ship S.S. Pacific Princess which aired 1977-1987. Crow is likely alluding to the episode "Who Killed Maxwell Thorn?", in which Robert Reed and Florence Henderson appeared as Mike and Carol Brady. Behind the scenes MST3K cast Regular cast *Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson *Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester *Josh Weinstein - Tom Servo / Dr. Laurence Erhardt *Jim Mallon - Gypsy MST3K crew Production * With this episode, the MST3K "Fan Club" becomes the "Information Club" in the end-of-show announcement. * Gypsy enters the theater for the first time (not counting KTMA) in this episode: Joel calls her into the theater to produce cotton in response to Tom Servo’s query about what real cotton feels like. *This episode marks the first time a duplicate Servo appeared onscreen. *According to the ''Amazing Colossal Episode Guide'', this episode was the subject of the first known negative review of MST3K, which appeared in Gore Zone magazine. Goofs Movie Edits As with most of the riffed movies, Untamed Youth was altered to fit the TV format and had a few scenes trimmed slightly to fit within the desired time-slot. Callbacks * "No dancing." (The Crawling Hand) * SPACOM (Project Moon Base) Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in March 2014 as part of Volume XXIX, a 4-disc set along with Hercules and the Captive Women, The Thing That Couldn't Die, and The Pumaman. **The DVD includes an introduction by Joel Hodgson, an interview with Mamie Van Doren, About Joel Hodgson's Riffing Myself, and a theatrical trailer. *Digitally available through Shoutfactorytv.com, Youtube, Rifftrax, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, and VHX. Gallery References Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes directed by Jim Mallon